


Of Fire, Scales and Smoke

by FireBright



Series: Xenomorphic [8]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (Updates when I can!), After Chara's death, Dragons, F/M, Gen, Pre-Frisk, Scaletale, You can find pictures of the characters on tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-10-10 13:03:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10438314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireBright/pseuds/FireBright
Summary: You opened your eyes and you were in a place you didn't recognise... You could smell smoke and old fires in the air... It was strange.





	1. Smoke and Petals

The air was damp and scented of old fires. Although your eyes were closed, you could tell you were in your human form, it was unnerving but relieving at the same time. You wanted to be human after all, this meant that you had died and were back at the house. Then again... 

As you clenched a fist, you could feel something that definitely wasn't the soft material of your bed, dirt, in fact judging by the light threatening to open your eyes, the strange noises, and with the wind echoing around you, you definitely weren't in your room. 

With more focus on your surroundings you could feel that your legs weren't on land but in water. A stream maybe? Had you just been washed up on the beach back at home? You pondered the idea of not dying and Sans and Gaster not finding you, just for you to wash up further down Ebott beach. This lead you to the thought... Where were you?

Since falling down into the Underground, you were used to passing out by now, and death. It was just something you had adapted to, you had figured that out the first time you did pass out. Ever since you 'fell' into the Underground, you wanted to die anyway, you were perfectly fine with the consequences for that. Even if you didn't die from the fall, you would've just wandered around until you could find some other way to die. That was before you met Toriel.

You opened your eyes and hovered a hand over your head to block the sunlight, which suddenly blocked your sight. Above you was a tall, large cavern, wider and deeper than the one you had 'fallen' into back in the underground at home. You frowned. Did the rivers around Ebott beach lead back to the Underground? Was this a different part of the mountain? Surely you wouldn't have made it back as far as Mt. Ebbot.

You could smell something smokey nearby, but before you could think about it, smoke clouded your vision and you shot up into a sitting position coughing, this triggered you to cough up the water from previously attempt suiciding off the pier. So you hadn't died then.

"Huh. So you aren't dead then. Eh. You will be." A small, familiar voice rang. You turned around to see them.

A small lime green and yellow dragon peered up at you, their eyes a deep red with the slits of a cat's. Their toes and ruff were a deep yellow, as with their horns and the tip of their tail. They had light-mint green wings, dark green body, legs, and tips of their horns. A pale yellow face and neck, leading into lime green on their underbelly. 

You watched him curiously and he deadpanned.

"What? Never seen a dragon?" He questioned, a mocking tone to his voice. You glared.

"Maybe I should kill you and get it over with. I don't know how you got this far, only special humans can get here, and frankly your soul looks like any other. Anyway- Golly, no reaction when I said soul? You are mighty interesting.- I'll spare you for now, they won't though." As the dragon, presumably Flowey, spoke, he nodded his head in the direction to the rest of the caverns.

"What's your name, kid?" You asked him, trying to sound like you didn't already know.

He rolled his eyes in disgust. "Ugh. You sound like that stupid skele-dragon." He retorted, you smiled smugly at his reaction. You had to admit, the longer you spent with those skeletons, the more their language rubbed off on you. 

"Not much point me saying my name, you're going to die down here anyway, but why not. My name is Flowey. Flowey the Flower Dragon." He spoke, you nodded the fixed your attention towards the exit. He hissed and you looked back at him.

"You want to leave me here, don't you? You want to just go out there and die. You want to leave me here all alone." He spoke with an angered expression. "And here I was, about to say that I would stay near you and not let anyone out there harm you." 

You bit your tongue in regret. Maybe Flowey was good in this universe, maybe he was like Underfell's Flowey, just moodier.

"Hey, lighten up. Perhaps I will give you a second chance." He spoke and you watched him in relief. "Or perhaps I won't!"

He opened his jaws and made a hissing sound as fire built up in the back of his throat, you jumped out of the way quickly and shifted into a Gaster Blaster on instinct, making him miss you from his surprise.

"How very curious. It's a shame you won't-" Flowey was cut off as a large fireball hit him. He shrieked at the attacker then flew off like a dart, deep into the caverns.

You looked in the direction that he had been attacked from to see a large royal-purple and white dragon with large ears which drooped down like a rabbit's. She stood there, her wings spread out in her previous fury and her gaze softened to a friendlier one. She folded her wings back in and curled her long, fur-tipped tail around her talons.

"What a foul beast, threatening such a poor, innocent dragonet." She spoke in a soothing tone. You looked up at her, still in your defensive position and she peered back down at you with a smile.

"Do not worry, hatchling. I shall not bring harm to you... You can fold your wings back in, I promise." You calmed down and she smiled, peering at your back.

You paused for a moment, then another. Did she say to fold in your wings? You quickly looked over your shoulder and gasped at the sight.

A pair of bony wings protruded from your shoulder blades, stretching in an upwards arc above your body. Between each bone was an opaque layer of deep crimson magic, imitating the skin between the wings. You gaped at it for a while, shifting them and staring to see them at every angle, until Toriel cleared her throat. You looked up at her again, quickly folding in your wings as if they were just another pair of arms.

"I have never seen a dragonet so fascinated in their own limbs." She spoke bewildered then smiled. "Come with me, my curious, little hatchling. I have baked a pie back in my home and was just leaving it to cool when I came here. I'm sure you would like to get back to your den soon, however perhaps you would like something to eat, umm if you can eat that is, and a guide to get back there? I have never seen you, or a dragon like you for that matter, so you mustn't be from around these parts." She told you and began to walk off, you ran after her curiously.

"Ah! I forgot to introduce myself! How clumsy!" She laughed. "My name is Toriel, Toriel of the royal dragons, and guardian of the ruins. I come here each day to look out for young dragons like yourself and collect the souls which fall down. What is your name, young one?" She asked, her tone laced in kindness.

"My name is _____." You told her, trying to figure out what type of dragon you were. "_____ the bone dragon."


	2. In A Different Light

**They** were sure that you were going to die.

 **They** were sure that when you did, **they** could make you reset.

 **They** were sure that **they** could take over your form and have some fun...

What actually happened, surprised **them**.

...

As **they** sensed your oxygen slowly run out, **they** could feel everything fall into place. All **they** needed is for you to reset and then the timelines were **theirs**. **They** would have the power of both human, monster and void and nobody could stop **them**.  
Eventually your body gave in, however **they** were taken aback. Where was the feeling of power? The sudden flood of energy that would give **them** what **they** wanted. However it didn't come.

****

**They** started to panic. _All this time I wanted to feel that power, to use that power, had it all just been for nothing?!_ This was one of **their** many reoccurring thoughts. 

****

**Their** panicked thoughts were cut off quickly as **they** saw your form glow. A relieved, excited feeling crossed **their** mind. **They** waited patiently for a moment for the power to come to them, however **they** didn't celebrate for long. To **their** utter horror and disbelief, you disappeared. You just vanished completely, somehow seperating **them** from your body and leaving **them** somehow materialised in the waters of Ebott City. 

**They** looked around for your presence quickly, **their** now materialised eyes darting around in panic. **They** weren't expecting you to suddenly disappear, **they** also weren't expecting **them** to suddenly turn into an actual, living thing, that looked like your human form, rather than a ghost. 

Once again, **their** panicking was cut short as **they** felt two bony, strong, hands clasp **their** arms and haul **them** quickly out of the water. 

Moments later **they** found **themselves** on **their** hands and knees, coughing up sea-water out of **their** lungs. The first thing **they** noticed, after **their** breathing settled down a little, was the weight. Everything was so heavy. 

_Maybe it's just the wet clothes?_ **They** thought. _Or maybe not... No wonder humans are so miserable. They must always feel like a bag of bricks._ In the corner of **their** eyes, **they** could see a pair of black shoes shuffle closer then disappear behind someone's legs as they knelt down beside **them**. 

"Child... Please do not do that again." He spoke softly, concern lacing his tone. 

He offered a hand and **they** took it hesitantly, letting the scientist help **them** to **their** feet. **Their** body had other plans though. As **they** watched the ground get further and further away as **they** rose to their feet, a sudden burst of anxiety split through **their** mind. **They** had been a child when **they** died and stuck as a small ghost for years upon years. Most of the time **they** just floated around, about an inch above the ground, never touching the ground unless deemed necessary. This was a whole new experience. **They** were so high up but touching the ground, it was like walking on stilts. **They** wished desperately that they could at least float but they stayed standing. While staring down at the ground with wide eyes, as if staring off of the edge of a cliff, Gaster withdrew his hand. Instantly **they** lost **their** balance and fell into Gaster. In return he let out a small 'oh!' to show his shock and held **them** closely. 

Sans's anger, confusion and slight concern practically radiated off of him as he watched **them** stumble. "Child... Maybe we should head back to our home? You seem like you could use some rest." Gaster spoke quietly, **they** nodded slowly, not finding the words to reply. **They** did however stop **themselves** from letting out a snarky comment of 'you really think?!'. 

Sans, making minimal eye contact with the group of other monsters and humans which had gathered, placed a hand on Gaster's arm, then teleported all three of them to their home back on the side of Mt Ebott. 

**They** glanced around the house, Gaster's arms still wrapped around **them** , in wonder. All this time **they** had been looking through another person's eyes or through a ghost's eyes, never able to control where **they** wanted to look or go unless Frisk started to commit genocide. Even as a ghost **they** could only stray away from frisk so far, as if a rope joined the two together. To see through **their** own eyes, to look around and control where **they** wanted to look, was really something. While **they** were like this, **they** could go wherever **they** wanted, talk to whoever **they** wanted, do whatever **they** wanted without relying on another human to do so for **them**... The shock of it almost made **them** cry in happiness. 

**They** could feel **their** eyes water as that realisation sunk in, **they** were free... Finally free... 

Then **they** frowned. **They** wouldn't let emotions take a hold of **them**. _I have to tear this family apart... I am curious I want to see what happens if I... I... Mom, dad... Asriel..._ **They** thought frantic to keep away from tears, despite **their** efforts not to cry, **they** eventually did. **Their** head fell against Gaster's rib cage and **they** wept, Gaster gave a sympathetic expression and turned his position into more of a hug. _Asriel... Brother... We can finally be together... I don't have to watch everyone die... I don't have to kill you... Brother..._

Sans who had disappeared a few moments ago, came back with some spare clothes. He seemed uncomfortable giving **them** your clothes so he gave **them** his clothes instead with a towel. **They** took the clothes and towel gratefully and changed into them while Sans and Gaster talked quietly in the kitchen, low enough that **they** couldn't hear them. They eventually came out whilst **they** were sat down on the couch, comfortable in dry clothes. **They** wished that **they** could wear **their** striped green and yellow sweater and shorts though. 

Sans eyed **them** carefully, taking a blanket and giving it to **them**. **They** suddenly felt a little anxious. 

"Child." Gaster spoke in a soothing way. **They** looked up at him, **their** eyes still nervously glancing at Sans. "We understand that you are displayed as a bad person, but the way you behaved after we took you out of the sea... We understand that you have been through a lot more torment than we had expected... You may stay with us in this home and be welcomed, however we would like to sit down and talk about everything that has happened... Is that alright?" **They** paused. _I'm meant to talk on _____'s side, what will I do?! What if they found out that I'm not actually _____?! But I don't want to go... It's so warm here... Where else would I go? Mom's? But she might not want me back..._ **They** thought. 

"Hey kiddo, we just want to talk and, although I don't want you anywhere near Paps, I promise not to bring out any blasters, okay?" Sans spoke gently. **They** nodded slowly, wiping away any other tears which had escaped from **their** eyes. Sans gave his usual joker grin. "Alright then kid, rest up. We don't want you _deep-rest_ now do we?" 

**They** smiled a little at the pun and Sans grinned, walking back into the kitchen to grab some ketchup. Gaster sat down on the couch and comforted **them** as they fell asleep. **They** were scared of Sans from previous genocide runs, **they** wanted nothing to do with him and wanted to get away from him, but as **they** stayed with Gaster, **they** knew that everything was fine. Gaster wouldn't let Sans harm **them**. 

Once **they** had fallen asleep for the first time since **they** died, as **they** didn't need to sleep as a ghost, Gaster sighed in sympathy. 

"Poor child." He murmured to himself, watching **their** head, rested on his lap, like the fatherly figure he was. "Although I agree that you have been dangerous in the past, and _____ is missing, there must be a reason why. You've been through so much, haven't you, Chara?" 

He placed his hand gently on **theirs** and sighed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAH, html code takes so long XD it took me four hours to write instead of two! XD Hope you enjoy smol ghost child.


	3. Settling Down

Chara woke up quite a few hours later. As they wearily opened their eyes and looked up at Gaster, their face shifted into one of confusion. 

He was asleep, his head drooping downwards as he took in each breath silently, most likely he had fallen asleep about an hour after Chara did. He looked so gentle and relaxed like this, so harmless... However there was a few things that caught Chara offguard.

A black ringmaster's moustache was drawn with a marker pen on his skull, along with a monocle and some rather comical eyebrows. Chara giggled at the sight and he stirred a little. 

Sans, who had also fallen asleep on another chair facing the couch, became alert and snapped his own eye sockets open. For a moment Chara thought that they would get a glare or something but instead he sat there silently, albeit slightly confused.

He looked over at Gaster for a few moments then grinned. Pulling a marker pen out of his hoodie pocket he put a phalange to his teeth in a 'keep it a secret' motion and Chara grinned happily in response. 

_Okay... Perhaps Sans_ is _alright then._ Chara thought, trying not to giggle again as they peered back up at Gaster.

It was now Gaster's turn to wake up. Papyrus burst through the door, shaking the walls of the Home as the door was nearly ripped off its hinges. Chara went bolt upright at the sudden intrusion, Sans kept his cool and just sat there, barely looking to Papyrus as he placed his marker quickly back into his pocket. Gaster opened his eyesockets quickly, his eye lights darting around the room in shock.

"NYEH HEH HEH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS BACK FROM HANGING OUT WITH UNDYNE!!" Papyrus announced enthusiastically.

Gaster let out a mental sigh and relaxed into the couch again. 

"That's lovely, Papyrus, next time however, please don't surprise me as much. You'll give me a soul-attack." Gaster told him quietly, a small smile appearing on his skull.

"OF COURSE DAD! I'LL BE... _LESS_ GREAT. JUST FOR YOU!" Papyrus replied with a smile. Sans grinned.

"That's great bro. How was Undyne and Alphys?" He asked his skeletal brother.

The two brothers drifted off into a conversation about spaghetti, anime and spear throwing. Then again, Papyrus was the one doing all the talking, Sans was just nodding every now and then or humming to say he was still listening. It was kind of one-sided.

Gaster looked at Chara and sighed. "Child, I can tell that you are somewhat anxious. If it is because you want us to think that you are _____, then you do not need to worry. We all know that you are Chara." 

Chara's eyes widened in shock. "H-How did you know?" They stuttered and Gaster gave a comforting smile.

"Your soul isn't the same as _____'s we can tell that you are not her. Another reason is that you look so unfamiliar in this environment." He stated simply and Chara nodded.

"I'm not used to this body. I don't know where _____ is either, I swear! They just disappeared and I was somehow left like this! I hope they're okay..." They expressed and Gaster gave a thoughtful look.

"It is possible that they might've gone to another universe as they died or something and left you here. Your determination copying their form." Gaster hypothesised, Chara frowned.

"Does that mean I can possibly look like myself?" They asked him. He shrugged.

"Give it a go. I'm sure if you try hard enough then you can be yourself again." He agreed.

They closed their eyes and imagined themself back at their home, Asriel next to them. Their eyes the inhuman dark red, their pale skin and rosy cheeks, their short-cropped, brown hair... Their scars from the abuse they had experienced before they 'fell' into the underground...

When they opened up their eyes again, there they were. Chara. They still wore Sans's clothes though. _It's me... Chara_ they thought... Gaster smiled.

"Well done, child! You look just as I remembered you! So sweet and innocent..." Gaster exclaimed making Chara roll their eyes while smiling.

Gaster had gone into the kitchen a few minutes talking to Chara. He emerged with some drinks which he gave to everyone, ketchup for Sans, coffee for himself and hot cocoa for Papyrus and Chara. His magic had formed extra hands and gave them to the others which they took gratefully.

Chara stared down at their cup in nostalgia. Gaster looked at them with a quizzical expression.

"Do you not like hot cocoa, child? I assumed you would because her majesty always seemed to make it for you when I came to the palace." Gaster spoke calmly, drinking from his own cup.

"No, I do like hot cocoa." Chara replied, with a smile. "It's been years since I last has something to drink though... Mom used to make me and Asriel it through the winter." They spoke, their expression turning into a sadder one.

Gaster nodded in understanding and they drank a little of their hot cocoa, savouring the taste. _Wow... It tastes like how mom would make it... It isn't as good as mom's though._ They thought.

After a while they all say down, Papyrus was watching Gaster in utter confusion, Gaster was every now and then giving Papyrus small smiles or glances to try to make him say why he was staring at him. Sans grinned then looked to Chara.

"So kid. I _moustache_ you a question." He began, Chara tried not to look at Gaster or laugh at the pun. "Do you like it here?" He asked. Chara nodded and he smiled. 

"That's good. Mark-er my words, kid, we didn't want to make you uncomfortable here." At this point Chara was hiding their laughs behind their knees which they had tucked up.

Gaster looked away, furrowing his eyesockets.

"Why do I feel like those puns had more to them..." He mumbled quietly. 

Sans snorted then broke up into laughter, Chara joined in with their own giggles. Papyrus gave a frustrated sigh and walked out of the room, only to come back in quickly with a hand mirror. He gave it to Gaster and Sans and Chara held their breaths.

"Saaaans..." Gaster started, after looking at his skull in several different angles. "Was this your doing?" 

Sans shrugged. "Can't say that it wasn't." He replied while grinning.

Gaster pinched his nasal cavity then sighed and walked out of the room to the kitchen. Chara felt some regret.

"Is he angry?" They asked Sans with a small sense of worry. Sans shook his head. 

"Nah, don't worry. He's a good sport." Sans replied, taking the marker back out again as Gaster entered.

He threw the marker at Gaster, who quickly caught it with one of his magic hands. "Figured that you would want the thing back." He explained and Gaster smirked.

"Now then, child." He spoke as he sat back down on the couch, tucking the marker back into his pocket. "Is it alright if we asked about your side of the story?"

Chara nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "I suppose you want to know everything, right from the start. Well then... Here goes..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mwah hah hah! Cliffhanger! I'm so evil! >:3


	4. A Hole New World

You both walked through what would be the ruins at a steady pace, Toriel's thumps for footsteps echoed through the tavern like the giant she was alongside your scratchy, footsteps. 

You would stare for long amounts of time at any dragon that you would see in your curiousity and they would stare back in as much interest. _They've probably never seen a creature made entirely of just magic and bones._ You had thought to yourself. Toriel usually brushed your staring with a smile and a small chuckle. You knew that she might say something about it later, though.

"My dragonet?" She asked you, catching your attention. You looked up at her and she smiled. "I was just wondering, might I know your parents? I would know where to return you to if I did." Although she was keeping it concealed, you could tell that she was wondering what two dragons could go together to make one with no flesh or organs. 

You paused for a second then shook your head. "You wouldn't have known them. They're dead anyway."

Toriel was taken aback. She went quiet for a few moments making you wonder if what you had said wasn't the right thing. After a few moments of awkward silence she sighed and gave a hopeful smile.

"That's awfully sad... They probably fought in a war against the humans, brave souls." She spoke softly. You resisted the urge to say 'Well actually, they fought in a war against a car and lost, but you know I was the one who kind of caused that anyway.' Toriel spoke again.

"Who looks after you back at your den then?" She asked, you shrugged in reply.

"Nobody in these caves." You muttered simply. You swear you could feel the motherly instincts practically radiate off of her. Your own instincts told you to step away a little bit.

"I shall look after you then." She spoke calmly. You twitched. 

You had to get back to your own world, you couldn't just hang around while a large, white and purple dragon watched you constantly. How were you supposed to sneak away if she was watching?!

"O-Oh! U-Uhh you really don't have to! I've been fine so far!" You blurted out. Toriel looked unconvinced by this.

"Not ten minutes ago you were getting beaten up by a dragon smaller than you. It is hard to imagine that you have been fine." She stated, making you recoil slightly.

"Pshh, that was just the once! Anyway, you can't be that much older than me, can you. I'm sure I can hold off on my own!" You explained. She cocked an eyelid, still walking as she raised her head slightly.

"And you are how old?" She asked, responsibility in her tone. You smiled.

"__." You replied to her with a smug look. Her eyes widened and for a moment you thought that you could just go ahead and leave. That, however, didn't happen.

She stopped dead in her path and stared at you. You stopped as well, completely confused.

"__ human-years? ...Only __?!" She cried, a few people walking by glanced at her in just as much confused curiousity as you were in.

"Yeaaaah? Why? How old are you?" You asked and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Four-thousand, seven-hundred and fifty-eight human-years. Or in dragon years, forty-seven and fifty eight months." She replied in scarcely a whisper.

... _Of all things holy... She is as old as dirt!_ You could hear yourself think as you stared up at her.

After a moment of silence she began to walk again, keeping a closer eye on you. You walked beside her, slightly awkwardly and uncomfortable by the attention. Eventually after walking in complete silence you came across a crevasse.

She hopped over it first then waited for you at the other side, watching you carefully. "Come, my little dragonet. In flying school you have flew further than this before!" She encouraged kindly. You smiled at her and took a few steps to the edge of the crevasse to peer down into it.

It was the worst mistake you could have made. 

As you stared down into the pit you could feel all of your confidence drain away. There was no bottom, it was just a hole that seemed to go on and on into eternal darkness, no light could seem to enter the depths of it. Each of the sides were all falling apart and crumbling, with sharp, jagged edges which threatened to slice through objects like the blade of a knife. What had originally been around ten to twenty meters wide, had turned into miles and miles. 

You looked back up at Toriel to see her studying you carefully but still smiling in encouragement. She had said that all other dragons could cross the gap with ease surely? So you could definitely do so as well! Flying couldn't be that hard, couldn't it? 

Taking a few steps back from the crevasse you took a deep breath. You spread out your wings and sprinted back towards the edge of the endless pit, but at the last second your eye-sockets widened and your body screamed at you to stop.

You tumbled off the edge.

As you plummeted downwards, a panicked cry caught in your throat. Your wings tangled. Your heart rate increased. You were going to die. Your eye-sockets slammed shut and you waited for your body to hit solid ground.

It never came.

Something sharp grabbed your body and you were yanked out of the air. You felt like a fish, caught in an osprey's talons, except in this case, those talons didn't belong to an osprey. The talons were too large to be Toriel's yet, as you opened an eye-socket, they were right colour to be Toriel's.

You could feel the air shift as two large wings beat the surroundings above you, carefully and quietly you were softly dropped onto the top of the crevasse. Toriel rushed over.

"First fires! I am so, so sorry! My dragonet, you should have told me that you couldn't fly, I would have carried you!" She stammered in her own panic. 

The dragon who had saved you landed on the ground a few meters away with a thump and walked over.

Toriel wrapped her wings around them quickly.

"Oh, Asgore! I don't know what I would do without you! It's a good thing that your reflexes are so fast, if you had come any later..." She trailed off.

Asgore sighed and wrapped his own golden wings around her. 

"Then it's a good thing I came..." Toriel broke the hug and Asgore stepped over to you, lowering his head to be level with yours.

"Howdy, young one. I hope you didn't get too much of a frighten from that." He spoke in a low, yet friendly tone. 

Asgore's body was very similar to Toriel's however there were quite a few differences. He had a pair of grey horns and a golden mane, nose, beard, eyebrows, wings, fur and fur on his tail. Some eastern-dragon style whiskers protruded from his face and he wore a golden crown, decorated by a diamond shaped ruby. A golden collar-type jewellery hung from around his neck with a single, but large, ruby in the centre. His tail ended in his weapon from your world, a crimson trident.

You looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you." You spoke simply, not finding the words to express how grateful you were that he had come.

 _So there's deep dark pits that I have to somehow fly over and everyone is much larger and stronger than me. Then again, who cares because DRAGONS!_ The thought filled you with DETERMINATION!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *For Future Reference: Any backstory in Scaletale which I have written may not be true, like the Underfell backstory. I only make up a backstory so that there is more of a frame to the characters and the story itself. I'm sorry if you do not like any of the backstories which I have crafted.


	5. Pain- Chara's story (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNINGS**  
>  *Child abuse  
> *Minor blood/gore  
> *Feels? Maybe? IDK about that one.

Pain. This was the cost of the smallest of mistakes. I had known from the start that being adopted by this rich couple wasn't a good thing. It had started with pain. I wasn't greeted by loving, open arms, a warm home, and smiles, instead I was greeted by cold, hard stares by those who I was meant to be loved by and the gates of hell. As the sharpness of the leather whip tore new cuts through the flesh of my back, I knew I was at my breaking point.

"I thought you would have learned by now." A disgusted, low toned voice scolded. His breath was right up against my neck, hot and smelling thickly of whiskey. All I could do was whimper an apology before the leather came back down, tearing through skin for a final time. I sighed in relief that it was over, crimson eyes struggling to see the surroundings through the wall of tears.

"Bloody useless you are." The voice snapped, furious. "We should never have bloody taken you into our home in the first place. You child of the damned." Flinching as I heard him snap the whip as a threat, I kept my head low and submissive as he growled.

I waited for him to leave, my head down towards the floor. Finally the loud thumps of his boots were heard as he stormed out of the shack and slammed the door. The walls shook for a few moments, threatening to collapse at the smash of the door shutting, the door itself was nearly falling of its hinges. After I heard the clicks of the door being bolted shut and the sound of his retreating footsteps, I sunk to the floor.

I didn't have the privilege of a mirror in this small shack but I knew that my back was torn up badly. Pain had almost lost meaning to me, over the previous few years the mistakes I had made had caused me to be beaten until whoever was throwing the punches was satisfied. _Serves me right_ , was all I could say each time. _It was my fault for messing up again._

I stumbled to my feet and took a seat on the edge of my hay-bale bed, feeling the material thrown across it, acting as a blanket, for comfort to take my mind off of the cuts across my back. The small shack wasn't much it was more of a jail cell, originally being a shed to store tools, but now it acted like a home. 

The walls were made of the same material of most houses, the roof thatched as well, the floor was basically just the cheapest material that my adoptive masters could be bothered to buy, turning out to be a layer of straw over stone. It wasn't thermal at all, the door had multiple cracks and was rotting so the wind could get though easily, I really didn't understand why the other kids liked the snow, it made the entire shack freezing cold. The shack was decorated by the hay-bale bed, a pail filled with water, a folded pile of clothes in a corner and the leather whip haunting me with what could happen if I made another mistake. Again, it wasn't much but it was home.

That night, when the stars peeked through the holes in the ceiling and through a crack in the door, I saw the last of the lights in the house get extinguished, I pushed the bed to a side and stared down into the hole I had carefully dug. I had spent a while each night to add to my progress, but tonight I was feeling especially hopeful that I would break free. 

I climbed down into the hole and crawled through a small tunnel before scratching at the roof. The ground was hard from the temperatures tonight, in the midst of winter, digging was hard. However, as my small hands frantically scraped at the dirt, I was filled with determination. 

Through the course of the night nothing was happening, the dirt was hard to dig through and I was weakening easily, my determination disappearing quickly and being replaced with exhaustion. When the moon was at its peak, I finally gave up. I flopped onto my back and stared up at the dark ceiling of dirt above me, it wasn't that far away, I could reach up with an arm as I lay down and my hand would touch it.

Another night of failure... I hated it here. I hated my masters, I hated the food, I hated the abuse, I hated everything about this place. I glared at the dirt above me, new angry determination rising in my chest. Then, without even thinking I lifted my feet and kicked with all my might the ceiling above me. I spent a while looking at it, nothing happening, then after a moment I sighed and decided to go bed. I was tired.

I sat up by accident, the ceiling was too low for me to sit up. My head hit the ceiling and I flailed in the sudden shock. Before I knew it, a thump was heard and I was covered in dirt, not knowing how to process anything. I sat there, still, in disbelief. I had finally done it... 

I crawled back quickly to my shack and put on my only, and favourite, sweater. Green with a yellow stripe. Then I jumped back into the tunnel and crawled out to my freedom. The stars were out, the moon was at its fullest, it was beautiful. I ran.

I sprinted across a field of buttercups and up to the top of a hill. I grinned back at the house I had lived in and let out a small whoop of joy. Finally free. 

With the wind biting at my skin, I started to shiver. Golly, it was cold outside. I suddenly regretted leaving. I gritted my teeth. I had come this far, I wasn't going to put it to waste, perhaps I could find a cave to live in and find some fire wood or something. I could light fires easily. So, I headed towards the mountain Ebott. 

I was told all my life that whoever went to Mt Ebott never came back. At the time I was either foolish or couldn't care less, after all, I never did want to go back. I realised that there was fewer caves on the mountain than I expected after climbing a little way up it however, I could spy a cave near the top which gave me the courage to continue. 

I must have been climbing for hours, because I was nearly out of hope when the sky started to shade in orange and pink. As I drank gratefully from a stream running down the mountain, I could see some humans coming out of their houses, starting work on their fields of grain and wheat. The view was nice, I stopped for a while to savour it but the calm setting was broken quickly. 

An enraged yell cut through the landscape, scattering birds from nearby trees. I shuddered at knowing who it was.

"Master... He'll come after me! I don't want to go back!" I had cried out to myself, getting to my feet and scrambling up the side of the mountain. I was hoping that I could rest, but that didn't seem to be an option now. 

I don't know why I was running, if he caught me running away he would punish me even more, if I returned I might have been punished less. However, at this point I could hear my master's stead thunder up the mountain and the barking of his dogs as they obediently followed my scent. I feared his dogs almost as much as I feared him, they were like another weapon for him to torture me with. 

I ran, and I ran, and I ran. As I climbed up the mountain, stumbling to the refuge of the cave at its peak, I realised what I had signed up for. A child, with no rest and fresh wounds could at no chance outrun a well rested horse and dogs. I was dead meat. To my relief I reached the cave opening and ran inside, only to my horror it fell into a pit of darkness.

The horse had reached the cave and the rider swung off of its back with ease. Glaring holes into me. I looked back at them in fear as he signalled his hounds to sit and wait.

"You have two choices here, you little shit. Either you come back with me and only suffer punishment for running off, or you jump to your certain death." He fumed, his voice seeming almost as threatening as the whip in his hands and the hounds at his side. "You have five seconds to decide. Make it quick." 

I desperately didn't want to go with him, but more so didn't want to die. I took a step towards him and he gave a smug expression, reaching out to me with a hand. I stared at him in distrust, looking between his outstretched hand and the one holding the whip. I slowly raised my own shaking hand towards his then stopped. Biting my lip I glared at him.

"Go burn in hell, you fucking asshole." I snapped at him to his shock. He raised the hand with the whip and my eyes widened before I turned around and looked over the edge, I suddenly wanted to go back. I tried to pry myself away from the pit of darkness but my foot caught on a root protruding from the ground and I tumbled into the pit. My master went to grab for me and tumbled over as well.

I so badly wanted to say something along the lines of 'Karma' but my own fear and terror had overcome my thoughts. I might have fallen first but I caught the edge of the tunnel, slowing my fall slightly. Even before I hit the ground I heard the sickening crack of his bones and saw his corpse at the bottom of the cavern, his neck clearly broken. I tumbled down and hit a patch of grass with a loud thump.

Pain. This was the cost of the smallest of mistakes. I had known from the start that being adopted by the rich couple wasn't a good thing. It had started with pain. Falling into the Underground had started with pain as well, however I didn't know at the time that perhaps there was a different light to pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy macaroni! (Totally underused phrase X3) A _huge_ thank you to all of you out there leaving those kudos, comments and reading my works! It gives me that extra push of determination each time I see my inbox, the hits and the kudos!!! Just... Golly...
> 
> THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! XD


	6. Family- Chara's story (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit late '"=~= sorry. I got halfway through it and then ran out of things that I could say to make the chapter long enough. (I try to aim for 10,000 characters- in writing terms- for each chapter.) So yeah. I hope a little Asriel and Chara sibling stuff can make up for it! XD

"Hang on." Sans interrupted, Chara looked up from petting Mercury.

The little ferret had run into the room and was playing with Chara's shoelaces. Chara had picked them up gently and was petting them, they had fallen asleep in their lap a while ago.

"So you're saying that this guy fell in with you?" Sans asked, even Gaster was giving a look of confusion.

Chara nodded. "He died from the fall." 

Gaster looked to Sans then back to Chara. "But there were no reports of a second human falling down. What happened to them?"

There was a moment of silence before Chara spoke again. "I've been thinking the very same thing for years. At one point I thought that the mad dummy ghost might've been him, however I decided that it couldn't be... When I first fell down, the body was hidden from view. Asriel took me back to mom and dad then later I decided to go back to show Asriel. His body was gone, there was no trace of him left behind. I don't know where he went or how, it remains a mystery to me even now."

There was a thoughtful silence between the three, the only thing breaking it being a small yawn from Mercury before he settled back down again in his tiny, fluffy ball of unleashed mischief and chaos. Gaster was the one to properly break the silence however.

"Please continue if you are ready." He stated simply and Chara gave a nod.

"You both pretty much know most of the story but I'll explain it anyway."

____

"Chaaaaraaaa!" Asriel called with enthusiasm. "Chara look! I found one of mom's cookbooks! Dad's favourite pie is in here! C'mon Chara! Let's surprise him!" 

I laughed then ran off after him into the kitchen. Mom was out, tending to the flowers and dad had gone off to do all of his King duties, leaving myself and Asriel to the house. After washing our hands or in Asriel's case, paws, Asriel practically dragged me up onto a stool so we could see the kitchen side.

"Okay! What do we need?" He looked at the book with sparkling eyes. "Flour, sugar, eggs... Butter cups?"

I looked over his shoulder at the book. "What?"

He shrugged. "Buttercups. We have to add buttercups as well." That didn't sound quite right.

"Are you sure? I don't remember mom adding any to her pies." I asked.

Asriel picked up the book and showed it to me. like he had said, the words 'Butter cups' were inscribed on the page, there seemed to be a smudge after it. At the time I took no notice of it, it was an old book which was smudged in several places, so it could've said anything. "Mom says that she does add a secret ingredient to it. Maybe that's what it is!" At this point Asriel was grinning ear to ear, I copied him. Of course! That's why we never saw her add any buttercups, she would add it in secret! That's why it's a _secret_ ingredient.

"Come on, Azzy! I think I saw some in the garden!" 

We both ran outside to collect some.

___

"I must admit, his majesty wasn't doing particularly well that week."

Chara made a guilty expression. "We didn't realise that it didn't say buttercups... I felt really bad, I was scared for dad. I thought he was going to die."

Gaster made a bemused expression. "From what I heard, you just laughed it off."

"I wanted to keep Asriel hopeful that he was going to be okay. I knew what it was like to lose hope, to lose those who care about you. I didn't want Asriel to feel upset, so I tried to make it seem as if it wasn't that bad and he was going to be fine. Even though he was upset about it for some time, as dad got better he also got more cheerful. Eventually everything turned back to normal again. I mean sure mom was angry with us but I didn't mind. As long as Asriel was happy and dad was okay." Chara explained to the scientist, he nodded in understanding. 

"Okay, continue." He spoke.

___

Soon enough, I had been in the underground for a full year. Many things had happened since I had fallen down and many memories were made. Asriel had found a camera, yet had difficulties using it and I was happier than ever before. I think Asriel was happier than ever as well. We were two siblings who loved each other so much that we would die for each other. Of course... That is partly true...

I was awoken that morning, not by mom, but by Asriel.

"Charaaaaa! C'mon Chara!" He was squeaking excitedly whilst shaking me.

"Azzy, nooo... Just... Five more minutes..." I mumbled to him, closing my eyes on his disappointed expression.

" _Chara!_ " He whined. I laughed.

There was a few moments of silence before he spoke again.

"Chara, please!" He spoke desperately. "You _have_ to get up!"

".. Why...?" I had responded.

"There's a fire." Asriel spoke simply. 

I shot up, head butting him in the process, and we both fell to a side, moaning in pain for a few moments.

"Asriel," I spoke at last, "Is there really a fire?" He gave his mischievous grin, the same one he wore if he had stolen my stash of chocolate. I glared.

"Happy birthday, Chara!" He suddenly shouted, making me clasp my hands over my ears, when he was done shouting I lowered them and looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked him bemused. He smiled.

"Well, we don't know when your _real_ birthday but since you've been down here one full year, we decided that we'd celebrate this day instead! I came up with the idea and mom and dad thought they liked it a lot! So we're going to have lots of fun and you'll get presents and you can say whatever you want today! Except swearing of course..." He exclaimed in a gleeful way.

I smiled at him then ruffled his hair between his horns. "You're so cute."

He pouted. "I'm _not_ cute! I am the god of hyperdeath!" He quoted from a drawing he had done a while ago. 

"Cuuuute!" I replied.

"Not cute."

"Cute!"

"Not cute!"

"Cute!"

"No-"

"What's this debate?" Dad asked, walking in to the room and bashing his horns against the top of the doorframe -a clumsy habit of his. I smiled up at him and he waved.

"We were debating whether. Azzy was cute or not."

"I'm not cute!"

Dad chuckled and patted us both on the head. "Come on you two, today's a big day don't you know?" He shuffled back towards the door but just before he left he turned his head around and spoke. "Oh, and one last thing. I think you're cute as well Asriel. Two against one." Back on top of my bed, Asriel wailed 'Daaaaad!' and I laughed. "Happy birthday Chara." Dad spoke before leaving.

After dad left, Azzy looked at me with stars in his eyes. "Wait, before we go. I got you something!" He spoke excitedly, before I could reply he placed a white box in my hand, wrapped in a red ribbon. I smiled.

"Oh, Asriel. You didn't have to get me anything!" I spoke gently, he frowned. 

"Of course I do! You're the best sibling I could ever have!" He finalised and I smiled then opened the box.

Inside was a heart locket, one you could put around your neck as a necklace. Asriel was looking nervous as I picked it up to look at it.

"D-Do you like it?" He asked, fiddling with the bed covers anxiously.

"It's just like you..." I replied. "It's so cute." 

I hugged him happily and it took him a few moments before he hugged back. 

"I-I was so s-scared that you w-wouldn't like it!" He trembled. I smiled and broke away from the hug.

"Of course I would like it, you crybaby! I would like anything you gave to me! It's beautiful!" He laughed happily, wiping away tears from his eyes then he reached into his yellow and green jumper to pull out one that looked exactly the same.

"I got two, so we could match!" He spoke happily, and I smiled, placing my own around my neck.

"Cute." I whispered, this time he didn't reply.

"C'mon Chara! Let's eat!" He said as he pulled me up, out of the bed. I laughed as he took me by the hand and lead me out of the room excitedly.

"Hey Asriel," I started, placing a hand to the necklace and looking at him. "I can feel it beating." I said, grinning.

He frowned. "Charaaaa! That's creepy!"


	7. The Royal Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in Scaletale!

So there you were, walking through the caverns with Toriel pressed close to you as if you could be attacked at any second. Warmth practically radiated off of her scales which was actually pretty nice, considering that you would be physically chilled to the bone without her because the caverns were moderately cold. 

Although you thought that she was as much of a role-model, mother, dragon as it could get, it was also as if she was a little clingy towards you. You didn't really mind at the moment but you knew you wanted to actually be allowed to get out so you could get back home. You thought that if you told her "Well actually, I'm just a human that's taking the disguise of a dragon. But don't worry, I'll be gone soon anyway. I'm just going to abandon you here on your own with Asgore!" She might get a little fired up.

So, you just walked in silence, pretty much glued to Toriel, as Asgore led the way. 

Eventually you saw yourself approaching a large building in the middle of a carved out cavern, looking like the castle you had seen back at Waterfall in your own universe. One of the only differences being is that this one had more of a purple tinge to the bricks as it was using the rock from this area. Toriel and Asgore stopped at the entrance.

"This is where we stay, young one. Whilst Toriel finishes the pie, I shall show you around. How does that sound?" Asgore asked softly.

You nodded quickly and Toriel smiled before entering. Asgore gave a toothy grin which would've scared any human before entering with you following just behind. At least you wouldn't have Toriel constantly watching you like a hawk.

You had entered a sort of large hallway, tiled with light blue and purple squares and light blue columns. It was decorated like the judgement hall except coloured differently. Between each column had a large painting of either Toriel, Asgore or both. However several pictures had another small, white dragonet and a human. There were also those who had curtains drawn over them as if to hide the paintings from dragons. Like hiding the truth. The hallway lead to several other smaller corridors and a set of stairs at the opposite end you had entered.

Before you could fully process the room, Asgore was proceeding down the first corridor to the right of the large hallway. You followed with nimble steps. 

"This is a very large place, isn't it? Not many dragons come here, in fact very, very few even get the chance to have myself show them around. You must feel very privileged!" He spoke in an amused tone. You smiled up at him, although bones didn't show much emotion.

"We shall begin the royal tour then! Come, young one." He started as he walked with the grace of a swan down the corridor.

As you followed Asgore you noticed how many stained glass windows lined the hall. You guessed that it made sense. As they were dragons, fire was easier to come by, right? A few of the doors down the hallway were beckoning to you, pulling you towards them as if they were asking for you to go inside of the rooms that they guarded. You had wondered how long it had been since talons had touched the handles of each of the doors, what the runes engraved into them meant, what lurked beyond them, however you stuck close to Asgore in a phobia of getting lost or left behind in the halls. It seemed almost haunted in here. Very surreal...

Eventually Asgore had lead you to another corridor and stopped. The corridor lead into another hallway which homed four thrones. Two large to fit Asgore and Toriel, and two smaller that were covered in a sheet of cloth. You stared at them in thought until Asgore spoke, making you jump.

"It seems that you have taken an interest in the throne room." He pointed out, smiling at your reaction. "A throne for myself and Toriel and... another two."

He seemed very hesitant about the other two thrones.

"Who used to have them?" You asked curiously. Asgore sighed.

"Well, one of them was for my son, Asriel. The other was for a human who had once fallen down here. Think back to your history class and you should know who they were." He explained softly as he turned around to go back the way he came. You noticed how he had lowered his tone slightly at mentioning said human. "This room is where you may find us if we are not in our normal living space. Come, let us continue."

You didn't want to admit that you had never been in dragon school as it would raise suspicion but really wanted to know who it was and why he seemed to not like mentioning the human. So, you decided that for now you would just obediently follow Asgore and hope that it came up gently in a conversation later.

Asgore lead you back in the direction you had come from, explaining each room's purpose. It was actually pretty disappointing. Most of the rooms were used for work purposes. Mainly studies and small offices where dragons often would look up from their work and greet the king. You would get a couple of smiles your way, but you were mostly ignored.

Eventually Asgore stopped at a door with a scroll and quill looking rune, engraved into the wood. To the side of the door, a wooden sign hung, looking mysterious and fascinating with many runes carved into it. You looked to Asgore enthusiastically and asked him what it said.

Asgore smiled and spoke in a heroic tone. "It says, those who enter this room will be filled with knowledge past anyone's reach!" 

He pushed open the room as your eye sockets widened in fascination.

"Just kidding." Asgore smiled. "It's just the library rota, saying which librarians are in on certain days." You laughed as he chuckled.

As you followed him in, you were hit by the scent of paper and a dusty scent coated the air. It smelt like old books. It was a huge room! Shelves lined the walls, filled with rolled up scrolls, and you were left looking at each one in awe. 

As Asgore was talking to a librarian dragon, you approached a shelf and took out a scroll gently before unraveling it. However, you were disappointed when you couldn't read what was written. The ink had marked onto the page several of the runes that you had noticed around the castle. It was frustrating. You ravelled up the scroll, placed it back where you had found it, then picked up another. It enscribed the exact same language. You tried again, and again, and again. Until finally you decided that every single one would have just runes on it. You wished that it would have English, WingDings or even some other language you could slightly understand on it, heck even Spanish which you had some difficulty learning at school! You guessed that the only reason why you had difficulty was because you weren't fond of the teacher who taught it. Mrs Fangboner wasn't the nicest old woman you had met.

Asgore and the librarian had been watching your scroll studying for a while now. You had only noticed the silence after the librarian accidently dropped a stack of scrolls and you ran over to help them pick all of the scrolls back up.

"Do you like reading then?" Asgore asked with general curiosity. You nodded to try and cover up the fact that you couldn't actually read anything that was written on the scrolls.

Asgore smiled once all the scrolls had been picked up off of the floor and the librarian shuffled away to continue their duties. "Would you like to borrow a scroll to read? We could set up a scroll for you." 

You were unsure about this, what would be the point if you couldn't actually read what was written? However the kind smile on Asgore's face made you want to learn what the language was. You smiled then nodded. 

The librarian, who had heard the request, quickly placed the scrolls away then returned to their desk, taking a blank scroll from behind the desk and a quill.

"What's your name?" They asked in a sweet, gentle tone.

"_____." You responded quietly and they nodded and wrote the name down in the runic language quickly.

"Do you know how the library system works?" They questioned and you shook your head.

"Alright then. Here you go." They took a small piece of wood from beneath the desk and pressed it into your talons. It seemed like just a square of wood on the top but underneath it was a pattern that looked like a pair of dragon wings.

"This is your stamp. It lets you take out scrolls. Go choose a scroll that you wish to take out and I can demonstrate." They explained and you nodded.

Asgore came over with a scroll in his talons and placed it gently on the desk. "I think you would like this one." He said with a smile. The librarian gave a satisfied nod.

"Okay then. Can I try this one please?" You asked and the librarian smiled.

"Now all you need to do is take your stamp," They pushed forwards a pad of purple ink. "Get some ink on it, then stamp it on this scroll below your name." You did as they said to, placing the stamp neatly under the runes of your name. They smiled.

"There you go! Your first scroll! And when you return the scroll, I shall draw a cross on the stamp to say that it is back in the library." They passed a small leather bag, with a clip on the strap, over the desk, placing the scroll inside along with your stamp. "Here, you can have a bag to place your scrolls and stamp in." They spoke as you took it carefully. Asgore helped to clip it around your neck like a necklace. Careful not to touch the silver necklace that Sans had given you. He smiled and you both thanked the librarian before leaving.

There was no chance in hell that you were going to be able to read what was written on those scrolls, but you were filled with DETERMINATION to at least recognise a few of the runes!


	8. The Royal Backstory

Or not.

The so called Determination you had been filled with was running out, along with your patience, as you looked over the scroll for what must've been the fiftieth time. The more you stared at the meaningless symbols, the more annoyed you got.

The room you were sat in was simple and reminded you a lot of the room that your Toriel had given you back in your universe. It was quite a small room with two young-dragon sized alcoves on each side. Both alcoves had a bunch of red, silk pillows in them to act as beds and you were sat in the right alcove, with the scroll unraveled as you glared down at it in annoyance. Glaring wasn't getting you anywhere. 

As a familiar, large dragon entered, you rolled the scroll up and peered up at him. He smiled. 

"I hope I am not interrupting anything," he spoke in a kind tone, taking a seat in front of you. "I was just wondering if there was anything that you wanted, you've been very quiet." 

You so desperately wanted to scream ' _The ability to read these damn scrolls_ ' but you sighed, forcing yourself to get rid of the thought. Did you really want anything? The dragons had been very kind to bring you in and you didn't want to be rude and just leave. Even though you were oh so desperate to do so. At the same time you didn't want to dismis him and say you didn't want anything, especially as he could've come from doing something important just to do so. 

"Can you tell me more about this castle? More about this entire place?" You asked and he smiled.

"Very curious I see..." He started, pausing to think of where to start. "This castle was built many, many moons ago so that the royal family could have access to both exits of the Underground. We have another castle at the other side of the Underground which I am sure you would've heard of. This castle was built when we heard of more humans coming or falling down this entrance of the underground rather than the other. So, in able to keep up with the human armies, we made sure that we would have constant connection to each castle, at one period of time myself and Toriel will stay here then at another we will stay at the other castle." He explained, you gave him a questioning look.

"So humans always enter the Underground?" You asked. Asgore nodded.

"I must admit, lately there hasn't been that many to enter but ever since Chara, the first human, fell, there has been many humans to try and slay us and take our treasure." 

_Chara_ You had heard of that name before... Your mind went back to when you were in front of the mirror in Toriel's house... "It's me, Chara" you had heard in your mind. Who was Chara?!

"Could you tell me more about Chara?" You asked and Asgore gave a look that said he wished he never said the name. However, he continued.

"Chara was a human who fell into the Underground a long time ago. They had followed one of our scout dragons here and fallen in after. At first we were sympathetic to the small, human child, my son, Asriel, brought them to our home and begged for us to let them join the family. So we agreed and they lived with us. However, one day Chara took my son to the surface, against my permission, and handed Asriel over to the humans to be tortured and slain. I raced to the human village, but it was already too late... All dragons hate humans for what they have done, myself and Toriel will never forgive their actions." He spoke with a grief ridden expression.

You were unsure what to say... How do you comfort a dragon?! So you just sat there in silence for a while until you could think of someway to change the conversation. 

"Uhh... Have humans ever tried to stop dragons from getting out of the Underground?" You tried, he nodded.

"Once. There was a barrier made by powerful humans at one point. However once they realised that they could not get through the barrier once they had entered, to steal treasure, they destroyed it. We haven't seen any humans for a long time however. We think they might've stopped coming completely, especially as the scout dragons we have sent out come back with no humans even in the area." 

You were thinking of something else to ask but Asgore cut you off.

"Come with me young one, Tori has made pie for us to eat." He smiled before leading you out of the room.

\---

The pie was nice but nowhere as good as your Toriel's pie. You really wanted to get back to your universe, to your Toriel, to your soulmate... You were starting to miss them. 

Asgore was now leading you down a set of stairs in the castle, saying that he had someone who he wanted to introduce to you, someone who he thought you would like. You followed him curiously, wondering where he wanted to take you.

Asgore took you through a door at the end of a long corridor and you both stepped out into a snowy landscape. You were still baffled how snow could get in the underground but with the icy feeling under your paws and the chilled air, you decided that it definitely wasn't fake.

You walked through the presumably Snowdin of the Underground in as much curiousity as the first time you had been in the Underground in your universe. Often dragons would walk by, smiling up at the King or starting a conversation before hurrying on with their days, Asgore would give a deep chuckle at some of the dragons' shyness before continuing to walk through the snow. One thing you noticed were the amount of houses, in Snowdin and the Ruins there were a lot more houses and they were spread out more as if to get closer to the ruins' castle. You didn't mind it, it just meant that there were a lot more dragons walking around where you went.

As you both walked on, Asgore took you over to a station that looked more like a hotdog selling stall than a sentry station. He walked over and knocked on the wood of it. Suddenly a dragon peered up from behind it, blinking sleepily. Asgore raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"I'm sure you don't get payed for sleeping." He spoke as the dragon righted himself.

He had bone-like prints on him that showed up over his grey-black scales and a blue hoodie placed on himself. He grinned up at Asgore.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I had a late night at the lab. How can I offer my service, Gory?" He asked in an amused tone.

"I wanted to introduce you to someone." Asgore replied, gesturing at you.

The blue-hoodied dragon looked over at you, in response his eyes widened. "Well this is... You know, Gory, you've brought me some strange things in the past but I think this might be the weirdest yet. Could you explain to me why you've brought me a corpse?" He asked jokingly.

You frowned in curiosity and cocked your head to a side, the dragon behind the stall jumped in surprise. 

"You're alive?" He exclaimed in confusion. You nodded.

"You're Sans..." You replied. He grinned in amusement yet something else lurked behind his smile, something you couldn't quite put your finger, well claw, on.


	9. Sans The Dragon

Asgore returned to the castle in the ruins leaving you with Sans. He joked around for a bit before taking you over to his house or as he called it a 'den' where Papyrus was located. Papyrus didn't stay for long, however, he was out of the door in moments and heading off to a sentry station. 

Their house was very much like the one your Sans and Papyrus had had in Snowdin. The same layout, the same colour scheme. The only differences being that it was carved into a rocky wall and instead of sofas and chairs there were layers of pine needles which were surprisingly comfortable. Sans lead you into the kitchen where a table stood. The table was more of a slab of rock and looked more like a ritual table but you didn't say anything. The kitchen was pretty much the same as the one your Sans and Papyrus had as well but this kitchen was again more rocky.

You took a seat on a bed of pine needles acting as a chair and Sans opened a fridge and took out a bottle of ketchup.

"What's your name then? You know mine but I don't know yours."

"_____." You replied and he nodded.

"That's a very human sounding name... Heh. Anyway, _____. You new around here or something? I think I would've heard about a skeleton coming here before." He asked, you shrugged trying to dismis his comment of a human name.

Again, that reply of 'Well actually I'm a human in disguise of a dragon. But don't worry because I won't be here for long because magic!' Really seemed to not be the best response. Instead you nodded in reply.

"I mean, I thought me and my bro were as skeleton as a dragon could get but you're practically a walking corpse! No offence. You're actually a quite nice looking walking corpse." He joked. You laughed as he came and sat down opposite you.

"Don't judge a book by its cover." You replied, he smirked.

"Of course." He spoke."So... Does your species have a name or can I just call you walking corpse?" 

'Human' came to mind "I'm just calling myself a bone-dragon." You told him. He gave an approving expression and nodded. 

"Well then, welcome to my house, bone-dragon." He paused for a while, taking a swig out of his ketchup bottle. "... I can't help but notice how stunning you look, a great disguise if you know what I mean." 

Your non-existent heart dropped. "No?"

Before you could blink, his front paws were on the table and his face was right in front of yours. "Oh, I think you do." He muttered.

He knew it. He knew you were a human. You were dead. 

You swallowed hard, looking back at his eyes staring into your soul. Your soul! Your soul was suddenly in front of you, glowing different colours as Sans turned his gaze to look at it.

"As I thought." He spoke dryly. You tried not to panic.

... Moments passed before he backed off into his seat, your soul floating between his claws gently.

"Yes..." He looked from your soul to your panicked face. "Your soul is just as beautiful as you are." You swear, you nearly fainted in relief.

"You think so?" You asked him, trying to stop the blush now creeping up your skull.

He nodded. "I know so."

It was silent for a while until he placed the rest of the bottle of ketchup back into fridge and your soul dissapeared back into your body.

"I'm going to Grillby's. Wanna come?" He asked and you nodded.

The two of you walked out of the den in silence. You were hoping that you could get back to Asgore as soon as possible but turning down his offer might have lead to suspicion. Asgore probably wasn't going to come back for a while in any case.

You weren't as much filled with DETERMINATION as you would've thought, but knowing that Sans could still possibly know you are human and not dragon, fills you with DETERMINATION to try and convince him otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short! I really didn't know what else to write! DX


	10. Death- Chara's story (Part 3)

"Cmon Chara! Do the creepy face!" Asriel begged, his paws closely around the camera. So I did, I pulled the scariest expression I could muster.

"Aah! Hehehe!" He giggled, I smiled in response, laughing in reply. 

"Whoops, I left the camera lens on." Asriel grinned, taking the lens off. "Do it again!"

This time I smiled and shook my head. "Nope." He frowned.

"Chaaaara! You're not going to do it?! Awh!" He spoke, turning off the camera.

Since he had found the camera in Waterfall, it had been a surprise it still worked. Nevertheless he didn't even know how to use it himself properly, so either way it wouldn't have made a huge difference if it didn't work when we found it. I can't say much though, as I didn't know how to use it either.

I hadn't told the Dreemurrs about my previous life, about the torture I had gone through. Honestly, I thought it was because I didn't want to burden them with it at first, but the more I think about it the more I believe that I just want to forget about it all. It's one of those things that should be left in the past. Something that shouldn't be revisited.

Asriel pulled me off the rock I was sat on and we started to walk back home, Asriel's paws still attached to the camera as his bright eyes looked down at its screen. He was so precious and innocent... Surely the humans would treat him with more care than they had treated me? However he was still a monster and humans hated monsters. I don't think that fact will ever change.

We found ourselves walking through Waterfall later.

"It's nice here..." I told him, he smiled at me, prying his eyes from the camera.

"I know... You see the stars on the ceiling?" I looked up at them at his words. "Monsters usually wish upon them."

I could see why. Each of the crystals that sparkled on the ceiling, lit up the cave in a soft blue glow. They were beautiful, shining like real stars yet still not real... It was breathtaking.

We were in silence for a while until we came across some echo flowers.

"So, don't you have any wishes to make?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"... Hmmm... Just one, but... It's kind of stupid." He replied.

"Don't say that! Come on, I promise I won't laugh!"

"You aren't going to tell my parents about this, are you? ... Hmmm... If I say my wish, you promise you won't laugh?" He muttered quietly.

"Of course I won't laugh!" I repeated, he paused for a moment, looking back up at the stars.

"Someday, I'd like to climb this mountain we're all buried under... Standing under the sky, looking at the world all around... That's my wish."

I laughed and he frowned at me.

"Hey! You said you wouldn't laugh at it!" He exclaimed, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Sorry, it's just funny... That's my wish too." I told him, his frown turned quickly into a grin and he side hugged me.

...

A couple of months passed since that day, every night I thought about that wish. That was until I heard the tales 'a boss monster can absorb a human soul and cross the barrier'. I knew that the king and queen were boss monsters, that meant Asriel was one as well surely? 

We were sat in the garden one day, Dad was at the lab, talking to someone that day. Mom was in Snowdin to see someone as well. That left myself and Asriel alone.

"-I should've just laughed it off like you did..." He finished after talking about the buttercup incident. The lens was off again, I didn't want to speak in case someone found it years later. I pointed at the camera then crossed my arms.

"Turn off the camera?" I nodded. "Okay then." 

As soon as the recording light went off and he placed the camera on the floor, I began.

"Asriel. I know how to get you to see the stars." I murmured. His face lit up.

"H-How?! Are you joking again?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Are you willing to do anything?" I asked him. After a moment he nodded. "I need to know that you won't back out. That you will be loyal. Do you promise me that?" He nodded in a more determined manor this time.

"I promise!" He exclaimed. 

"You can't tell mom or dad what we are doing either. It could get us in trouble." I told him firmly, he looked unsure but promised he wouldn't do that either. "Good." 

I picked up a handful of buttercups. "Are you a boss monster, Azzy?" I questioned him. 

"Umm y-yes? Why?" He now looked slightly scared. 

_'He said he was willing to do anything. He promised.'_ I told myself. "Perfect." I told him before shoving said buttercups in my mouth.

...

His paws were holding my hand. Careful, as if it were a fragile relic and delicate as if it could shatter into a thousand pieces if it experienced any amount pressure. The paws were slightly damp from his tears or regret and grief, despite the warmth of the fur and the softness. It was almost... Comforting. However, the fact still remained in my mind. I was going to die. 

The ride hadn't been a fun one. The effects of the poisonous flowers had taken me through hell and back and I knew that, even through all the torment of my previous childhood, I had experienced nothing worse. The cruel version of 'Flower power', I had once told my monster brother. He didn't laugh. 

I wished that I had just ended it all with a knife, a quick stab through the heart, but apparently it wasn't that easy. 

Firstly, it just wouldn't work, my mother had taken away all of the knives for safety. She hated for them to get near anything potentially life-threatening. This apparently also meant no fast-food because it was meant to be 'bad for their health'. Of course they didn't believe in this blasphemy and would often sneak out to get some, but this is getting off subject.

Secondly, if I stabbed myself or used a method that wasn't a natural death, I would be able to come back again. I was too determined. The only thing that could possibly kill me was a natural death and as old age wasn't going to happen any time soon, that left me with one option. Poison. I would've preferred to drown, but that would seem too obvious a suicide to the goat parents.

"I think tonight is going to be the night..." I wheezed, it hurt to even speak at this point. Asriel's eyes started to water again. "This is it! T-Take my soul... Go to the surface... I'll meet you there..." That was all I remembered before Asriel stood up. 

"Chara!" He called, hoping for me to respond. I just smiled. "Chara, no! I don't want to do this  anymore..."


	11. Spirit - Chara's Story (Part 4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AAAAH! This is so late! I'm sorry! I got caught up in so much stuff and my iPad charger decided to break on me so I couldn't post anything and- AAAH! I was also going to post this last weekend but I got caught up in lotsa stuff -seeing as my end of year exams are here- and ran out of time to write anything! Sorry!
> 
> I hope an extra long chapter can make up for it XD
> 
> Apologies to all those out there who have waited oh so very patiently for an update, I'll get back to writing about the actual plot of this story -dragons- as soon as I can! Thank you! :3

Darkness...

Darkness everywhere...

Was this what death was like? ... An empty void of an existence? Or perhaps it didn't exist? Maybe it was a figment of my already deluded imagination... 

It was unsettling but comforting. Terrifying yet relaxing... Unknown but familiar. 

I could hear weeping nearby but how close? Who was it? Why were they crying? What happened? Why were they here? Why was _I_ here? ... Why did it sound so... Familiar? 

As...riel?

I stood up. Or at least, I think I stood up. It was hard to tell as all that was left of me was a bright red soul and a ghostly white outline of my form. Was I a ghost? Maybe... As I rose to me feet, I was expecting a wave of nausea from the poisonous wrath of the buttercups but there was nothing. I felt like nothing had ever happened. There was no pain, no nausea, no nothing. I felt better than I had ever felt in years. Not even my muscles ached or hurt to move around where my previous guardian had... I didn't want to think about that...

I followed the sound of the weeping slowly, scared of what might happen if I move too fast. Bad things happen in the dark and the darkness I was moving in was... _Terrifying._ However, eventually I saw something burning bright white in the distance, an upside down heart with another ghostly white outline of a child. 

Asriel. 

In between intervals of their grieving, I could hear them crying out a single word. A name. My name. 

My steady paced footsteps turned into running. I ran over to them, sprinted over to them, shouting their name. Anything to stop them from crying any longer. It worked, they looked up and over to me, their grief filled expression turning to one of joy and relief. He stood up and ran over to me, closing the gap between us. We sprinted until finally, we collided. Wrapping our arms around each other as if we had been separated for a lifetime.

"I-I thought you were gone!" He blurted, his voice hitching at the last word. I just hugged him tighter.

"I would _never_ leave you... Come on. Let's go see some real stars."

The space around us faded to white. 

In a moment I could see myself looking down at two giant paws. _Paws?_ They had to be Asriel's but wow... His paws weren't this big last time I had seen them. I almost thought they were dad's for a second. 

He ambled over to the form of a child, laying motionless on a bed. They were definitely dead. You could tell from a distance whether someone was dead or just motionless but what gave it away was the fact they looked exactly like me. It scared me for a few seconds until I realised that I really was dead, that was my corpse.

I heard Asriel whimper in grief, holding back tears, before he picked them up. He carried them secure but gently in his arms. Scared to crush the child's fragile bones even though he knew they were dead. It was sweet... Like dad, he's just a big, furry pushover.

"Are you sure mom and dad are asleep?" I asked him softly. He nodded in reply.

"When I checked on them they were. They look shattered..." He mumbled.

Asriel and I both knew the risks of the surface, so our plan was simple. Get to the surface, watch the stars, take my body down and leave it in the main square for the rest of the village to see what they caused, return. We wanted to spend as little time as possible on the surface, we would hate to be seen by any humans at knowing how dangerous they can get towards monsters.

So, carrying my corpse, we creeped out of the house, Asriel's breathing and steps disrupting the silence and causing him to look around in fear. It wasn't too loud though, he had paws and not shoes. The silence and eeriness just increased the sound of his movements.

Slowly and quietly clicking the door shut behind us, he gave a small smile. The atmosphere was fragrant with the scent of flowers but it didn't quite manage to mask the smell of mould and earth from the caverns which we called 'New home'. In a few minutes we would reach the barrier with ease.

It didn't take very long for us to get to the barrier, not many monsters were walking around and if they were, it was members of the Royal Guard doing night patrols. We did have a close encounter with one of them that walked by, we crouched down behind a wall, trying to steady our breath as they walked past. In tense silence, we waited what seemed like a long time until we decided to leave the hiding place.

We could see the barrier in our sights now, no more guards in our way, we were nearly there. Asriel broke out into a run, his claws scratching against the the cavern floor as the thumping of his paws echoed off the walls. We were so close! 

A guard turned around the corner.

I told Asriel about the new presence sharply, told him to hide but he didn't. Instead he sprinted up to the barrier. He wouldn't just hide, not this close to freedom.

Before we knew it, there was a blinding white flash of light and a tingling sensation on our skin. Our ears were only hearing a high pitched noise and I couldn't hear Asriel speaking to me. It felt like something was trying to pull us apart.

I almost accepted this. I almost gave in to the barrier. Asriel would not let me though, he held on to me with all of his strength, determined to not let me go. Finally we fell through the other side of the barrier.

All of the blinding white light, all of the pulling and screeching in our ears was gone. Gone as if nothing had happened. There was light though but it wasn't blinding.

Slowly, after catching his breath, Asriel peered up at the sky and his face lit up in amazement. I soon realised why.

Stars...

Real life stars...

It was breathtaking. 

I was relieved that there was no clouds covering the full moon, which overlooked the valley where the village stood. The moon lit up the entire valley in a ghostly white light, reflecting off the large body of water in the distance and small ponds and rivers below. 

It took us a while to take in the sight, until we realised how low the moon was dipping. Quickly, I urged Asriel to stand and we hurried down the mountain to get to the main square, covered in the same golden flowers as the Underground. 

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Asriel asked me softly whilst looking down at the flowers, their petals lit by moonlight.

I really didn't know...

It sounded nice and revengeful when I first thought about it, but now... I wanted my body to be respectfully buried and I knew that the Underground would be the only place where that could be. 

Before I could reply to his question, a blood-curdling scream cut through the peaceful silence of the night. We turned around to see a retreating servant before they slammed shut the door of a nearby building.

"Asriel, we have to go. We have to go NOW!" I had shouted at him, expecting him to bolt up the mountain like I had done to escape from my old master. 

Instead of bolting or running or moving of any kind, he stood completely still in shock. He was a sitting duck! You might as well have even painted a damn target on him!

It wasn't long until my cries for him were cut short as he noticed the build-up of a crowd of villagers, each armed with pitchforks or torches or knives, anything they could get their hands on which could be sharp and considered as a weapon.

As soon as the first weapon slashed near to Asriel, he ran. Covering his head as weapons were thrown at him.

"Asriel!" I had shouted over the chaos. "You have the power to destroy them all! If you don't fight back they will kill you! Please, fight back!" 

He refused to harm anyone though.

As much as I had admired my brother's heart of gold and innocent ways, this time I felt it was getting in the way. No matter how hard I tried to convince him other wise, he would not attack a single person. It almost made me proud...

He ran, fatally wounded, all the way up the mountain and back into the Underground. Stopping only to read a sign placed near the entrance. I would've screamed at the sign in anger if Asriel wasn't there, instead I just cried.

[Here lies a noble man from our village, his kind and caring ways shall be remembered as he makes his way into the afterlife. Rest in piece, gentleman Richard Grain.] It said.  
[Burn in hell his demonic child who pushed him into this damned place. May they rot for eternity in the pits of hell.  
Chara, the demon who comes when you call its name.]

He pushed himself all the way to the garden and laid my corpse on the flowers. I believe that my determination kept him from falling the whole time, but as soon as he placed my corpse down, he collapsed. I cried out for him but he did not respond.

I was plunged into darkness once again.

\---

When I next woke up, it felt forceful. Like someone was dragging me out of sleep. It turns out someone had. 

When Frisk first fell down, they weren't full of determination. Somehow, I was still dragged along though. It was in their soul, determination. It was impossible to get rid of it. But once they crossed the barrier, that determination seemed to increase. They told me once that in their past lifetime, they had pretty much no determination so the barrier must have triggered something.

I was dragged along with them on their silly journey as they went through the Underground sparing all the monsters that tried to kill them. It took me a while to realise how much had happened since I was gone. I couldn't even imagine dad collecting the souls of any humans, never mind fighting them to the death. 

Frisk was okay I guess. They seemed alright. I couldn't help but notice something off about them though. How they shambled from place to place, how at times their expression was stoney. They looked like some sort of empty core. At first I thought they had some sort of depression.

It was after they did a genocide run though, that it started to make sense. After what-

___

Sans looked uncomfortable, he turned away staring down at the ground. Chara broke off, giving them a panicked look. They could tell he was thinking about the death of his brother again. Gaster wrapped an arm around him.

"I'm sorry! I forgot! Ugh, I'm being inconsiderate and I forgot all about that, I really am sorry Sans. I should skip that bit, I'm so sorry." Chara spoke quickly, their eyes brimming with tears.

"Nah, don't sweat it kid." Sans replied mildly, "Continue. Just try and skip the killing bits."

"I understand... I know what it's like to see your brother..." They broke off and Sans gave them a sympathetic look, ruffling their hair.

"It's okay. _____ is nice and I know they won't do anything like that. I believe in them."

Chara smiled slowly, but unconvinced. Eventually, after a few moments, they continued.

___

After what Flowey had said, I realised that he was right. He said something like "I bet there's someone out there watching, too cowardly to do any of this themselves". It was at that point that I got it. 

Frisk was just an innocent child. Someone out there was controlling them. The menus, the RESETS, it all made sense. A child couldn't control any of that! They had supposedly God-like powers! There was some sort of sick and twisted outside source that was doing that to them, making them hurt everyone. Someone was controlling them.

I tried to get them to stop at the end of the genocide run, they didn't listen to my threats. I took Frisk's soul to try and stop them from continuing but they came back. It was after that that they did a pacifist run.

I managed to glimpse at the ending of this run and I was right, it wasn't Frisk. Someone was definitely controlling them.

After that, they performed two more genocide runs. The first time I used the same threats as I had used before, the second time I asked them not to do a genocide run.

It pained me to keep watching those who I loved die. Every time a monster turned to dust I had to look away. Frisk lost their sanity. At times the one possessing Frisk would attack someone, such as you Sans. Frisk was so upset. They didn't want to watch you suffer anymore. So, they attacked again. 

The death of my brother was all Frisk. Frisk had been pushed past their breaking point and they didn't want anyone else to die. They killed Flowey to stop the one controlling them from killing Flowey. They wanted him to have a quick death, not as slow as his first one.

The runs after that were neutral. I couldn't tell which I hated more. The neutral runs where only certain monsters died and let the others around them suffer and grieve or the genocide where everyone died.

The one controlling Frisk eventually got more and more bored of the game they were playing, so they decided to do some hacking. They tapped into the main code of this universe and unlocked different elements. This was until they managed to find a new person to possess.

They gave them a horrible past and sent them, suicidal, to the Underground. They were originally searching for something new to experiment with but I think they lost control and now they're just waiting to regain that control. They could be anywhere. They could even be listening to us right now...

___

Sans was silent for a while, processing everything that Chara had told them. Gaster was the one to speak.

"So you were not the one to possess _____ to do what they did recently?" The scientist asked, adjusting his glasses which had gone lopsided from his shock.

"No. They were. They are regaining control." Chara responded quietly.

"Do you know how to get rid of them?" Gaster pressed.

Chara shook their head, a hand idly picking at a frayed edge of their jumper. There was a short silence until Sans spoke, his head down towards the floor and voice barely a whisper.

"Oh no..."


	12. A Life Sans A Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you never had any nightmares, you wouldn't have a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez, I keep getting behind schedule. Sorry guys and girls!

Grillby's proved to be interesting. Grillby seemed to be a sort of fire dragon, unsurprisingly, who's head was on fire along with the tip of his tail. Overall, he did look kind of cool. The rest of the dragons in the building also were moderately entertaining but not nearly as entertaining as the dragon Sans. Eventually however, Sans did announce that he'd best be leaving and you followed him back to his home. 

There wasn't really any hand holding in this universe, seeing as you needed all four legs to walk, but Sans did do something that made you think there might be. Half-way back to his den as you were walking side by side, he entwined his tail with yours. In surprise, you turned to face him but he looked away and then around the area as if he was casually glancing around. Although his face was turned away, you did notice the blue shading to his face. You just smiled to yourself in slight amusement and concentrated on walking, wrapping your own tail around his as much as you could.

"So, uh, if you didn't know, this is a normal customary thing in Snowdin." He stumbled over the words and you gave a small laugh.

"Sure." You heard yourself respond softly.

It was quiet when you arrived, most likely meaning that Papyrus was still out and about. Papyruses never really stayed still for very long, not unless it was a swap universe. Papyrus was the energetic, fun one, Sans was the chill, laid-back one. Or rather laid-backbone one. Swiftly, Sans settled down on the bed of pine needles acting as a couch, then nodded you over to join him. You did, taking your time to amble over to him before you seated yourself beside him. He gave a lazy grin.

"When's Gory gonna pick you up then?" He began. "Also, we are friends, right?"

You nodded. "I'm pretty sure we are by now. And I have no clue, just wait for him to show up."

"Nice... Okay, _friend_." Sans replied teasingly. You rolled your eye-lights. "So... Uhh... You'll come visit us, right? Paps would love the company and you're pretty to hang out with... As in pretty cool, pretty cool!"

You gave him an unconvinced look before replying with a more amused one.

"I think I'll be visiting often. I can't go long without a Sans, life gets too boring." As soon as you said it, you realised how odd it sounded. Like there were multiple Sanses. However, it didn't seem like this Sans picked up. He gave a relieved expression and sigh which most likely distracted him from the statement.

"Well, it's nice to have you round. Ask Gory to bring you round here some time! Papyrus'll love it!" He enthused.

"I definitely will ask." You smiled.

"In the meantime while we wait for fluffybuns himself, what should we do?" Sans questioned.

You ended up playing some sort of card game that you didn't understand, for half an hour, where Sans would win easily. The last matches however, you found yourself winning a lot more. For a while you were proud of yourself, until you found out that Sans was just letting you win. You didn't tell him you knew though, you just went along with it.

Soon enough, a knocking was heard on the door and Sans stood up hastily to answer it, wandering over to the object causing the knocking and swinging it open. Asgore, as expected, stood on the other side wearing a nervous smile.

"I am sorry that I am a little late. We had reports of a group of humans inside Waterfall." Asgore murmured. Sans' sockets widened slightly.

"Humans? How many? How did they get that far in here without anyone seeing them? Did you take care of them? Did anyone get hurt?" Sans asked with worry in his tone. He was most likely thinking about Papyrus who was keeping watch at a sentry station over in Waterfall.

"No. Nobody got hurt. They do not seem to be hunting anyone, but rather looking for something. Most likely our treasure. There is around about a group of ten to twenty but we cannot find any of them at the moment. We have called up a higher amount of guards to patrol the area but it is like they disappeared, there is no trace of them whatsoever. We are also looking for a way they could have entered but so far we are not finding anything." The king dragon summarised, a hint of puzzlement in his voice. "Anyways, we should be going. Tori is going to thwack me with her tail if I don't bring her child back."

Sans gave an amused grin before nodding. "Okay. See ya around, skele-girl."

You smiled at him before letting Asgore lead you back to where Toriel should be; in the castle. Midway there, you started to feel your legs ache. You had done quite a lot of walking around from place to place today, so you didn't blame yourself, but it was still annoying at knowing that there was a good couple of miles left to walk. Asgore must have noticed your slow steps as he curled his tail around your waist and lifted you easily onto his back. It was surprisingly comfortable up there and he was massive compared to you, so you were easily balanced between his wings. Eventually you found yourself drifting off to sleep as he walked on steadily.

When you woke back up, you were already in the place where you slept at the castle. You shifted as you woke and tried to blink the blurriness out of your eye-lights. It must have been late at night or really early in the morning because there was no light coming in from under your door and there wasn't a single sound to be heard. Except one.

"Sans?" You mumbled in reaction to the familiar chuckle that had broken the silence of the room. Normally you would feel welcomed by the sound of him but there was something off. A negativity hung thickly in the atmosphere. Had your Sans found you but was angry by your actions before you came to this universe? You hadn't upset him or angered him, had you?

"Not quite, princess. That's what I should be calling you, shouldn't I. Seeing as this universe's queen adopted you." Announced a slightly robotic voice, not sounding entirely like your Sans. The negativity in the voice was almost as thick as the negativity in the atmosphere. You sat up instantly looking for the source. "But, all things aside, you can call me _**Nightmare**_ ~"

It was then that you saw him, or rather _it_. It was like a Sans but a thick, black gloop was coving them. Tentacles seemingly made from the same black gloop sprouted from his back and the only part of him that wasn't slimy looking was a single socket, lit up in a battle blue eye-light and his white teeth.

You choked back a cry, making a whimper of fear. He just grinned even more.

"You know, I would've thought that Error would have been furious that a glitch like you is travelling universes and most likely wreaking havoc on the timelines. Instead he's so caught up in that stupid paint-skeleton's love that he's actually voluntarily looking for you. That annoys me. It means that I can't spend time destroying unnecessary AUs with my buddy. I could kill you but I know he would get mad." He was now glaring straight at you in the eyes.

You stared at him for a while. He may look awful but there had to be a reason why he looked like that, what had he been through? Perhaps you could convince him to maybe not hate you and perhaps not accidentally kill you.

"Hey um, I know you don't really like me, but I don't mean you any harm. Just hear me out, you don't have to take things out on AUs, just talk to someone. A problem shared is a problem halved. I don't know what you've been through and it must be pretty hard considering your state and I give you all of my sympathy. However, when you harm other universes, your making others go through what you may have been through, if you didn't like what happened to you, why are you inflicting pain on others. They didn't cause you to be the way you are and they probably cannot help you, but you can help you. If you stop then maybe you can be happier, you don't need to hurt people to be happy." 

Nightmare gave you a long look, then his grin looked strained all of a sudden. He sighed.

"Whoa, kid... That was... That was a complete waste of time! Don't tell me what to do! I'm happy destroying stupid universes! Also, I can probably destroy your coding or whatever and make it look like it was a natural cause so yeah! See ya!"

And with that, he disappeared. Although you didn't want him to ever visit again and you would probably struggle to get back to sleep, you were filled with DETERMINATION to try and help him... Or at least stay alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also! If you like chimeras, dragons and other mythological creatures, check out my new fantasy book that I am writing on wattpad! (If you would like to!) 
> 
> Here's a link to my page: https://www.wattpad.com/user/FireBright2000


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